Damn Yankees
by Emmagee
Summary: An American student transfers to Hogwarts in her seventh year. Over the course of that year, she manages to wreak havoc throughout the school, create a rivalry with the Weasley twins and steal Oliver Wood's heart. Oliver/OC romance. R-rated just in case.
1. One

The small girl with the curly hair stood on Platform 9¾ with rigid determination gleaming from her eyes. Determination for what, she didn't know, but as long as those around her didn't see a nervous, scratch that, _terrified_ witch waiting for the illustrious crimson train to come rolling in, she didn't care.

__

Those around her. She looked down the vast stretch of track in both directions and saw no other soul. At this she smiled and looked at her watch, which read 10:06. She was an hour early.

__

Better than being an hour late, she thought. She wheeled her trolley to the wall and sat next to it, softly laying her head against the rough brick. Grabbing her wand (cherry, nine inches, dragon heartstring) she brought to her a thick paperback novel from a secret compartment on the side of her trunk. With a contented sigh she opened to a page near the middle and began reading. Within seconds her eyelids were sagging, and within minutes she had fallen asleep.

__

She was flying on her broom, her new Firebolt she'd been given just before the move. She raced along mere inches from the ground and allowed the soft grass to brush against her face. She jerked the broom up and in an instant she was forming a right angle with the field. A porch light flashed on in the distance and she heard a voice calling her from the house that seemed miles away.

"Bailey Rae Whitman, you come down from there RIGHT NOW_! It's 2:00 in the morning! Don't make me come after you!"_

With a sigh the girl, Bailey, slowed and drifted back to the earth, flying lazy circles at an even lazier speed. She touched down next to a barn, and immediately her mother scurried over to her.

"What was that_?_ _Have you gone_ mad_?_ _What were you_ thinking_?_ _Somebody might have_ seen _you!_ Then _where would this family be?!"_

Bailey rolled her eyes, an act that went unnoticed in the near-blackness. "Mom, there wasn't even a _moon out, it's two in the morning, NO ONE SAW ME!"_

Her mother grabbed her shoulders and began shaking them violently. "You don't know that! What were you doing that for, miss? Miss? Mi—"

"—ss? Miss?"

The girl at the train station was jerked awake by a young man slightly shaking her shoulders. She stared in confusion at her surroundings (now bustling with young and old alike) before realizing where she was, and with the realization came pink-tinged embarrassment to her cheeks. She smiled at her human alarm clock and the worry lines in his forehead decreased, though did not disappear.

"Are you okay? I've been trying to wake you for at least a couple minutes."

She smiled at his accent (_accents are _always _nice_), but was unable to place it in her drowsy state. "Yeah, I'm fine, I never wake very easily. I'd probably sleep right through the death curse." The fully conscious portion of her brain (all 10% of it) was kicking her in the ass for making such a lame joke. The remaining 90% was laughing. She offered her hand to the boy kneeling in front of her. "My name's Bailey."

He smiled for the first time, and surprise shone in his rich brown eyes. "I'm Oliver Wood." Pause. "You're American!"

"Very observant, Mr. Wood! You must be at the top of your class with intellect such as that." She glanced at her watch and saw that the train was leaving in about ten minutes. She stood and massaged her sore neck for a moment and then, grabbing the handle of her trolley, turned to load her belongings but was surprised to see the boy named Wood now standing in front of her.

"Yes?" she questioned with an impish smile.

"Well, I'm sorry if I seem rude, but it isn't customary for Americans to board the Hogwarts train."

By this time several other clusters had paused in conversation to try to "subtly" eavesdrop, all equally curious of this strange new witch's background. A couple of girls appearing to be friends of Oliver's had even come up next to him, their giggles subsiding at the sight of the American.

Bailey was amused by the crowd and spoke to Oliver loudly enough for all others to hear. "I'm a transfer student. I attended Nalani in the States and was offered the chance to come to Hogwarts for my last year."

His eyes grew. "You're a seventh year?"

"Yes," she replied a bit defensively. "I'm certainly not repeating first year."

Oliver winced a little at the taste of his foot in his mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry. You just look so young. I thought you were fourth or fifth year."

Bailey passed defensive and went straight for indignant. "I'm 17!"

At this point, when Oliver looked completely helpless, the two girls standing behind him came to his rescue.

"Oh, don't worry about Ollie, he isn't known for his tact."

"Yeah, being quidditch captain has caused him to forget that most _normal_ people can actually be offended."

"Of course, we're used to it by now. Whenever he gets that glint in his eye we tune him out."

"Which is most of the time."

The two girls giggled at Oliver's mock surprise at their admission. One girl (tall, blonde, athletic) shoved him playfully and smiled at Bailey.

"I'm Katie, and this is Alicia." Alicia, however, was whispering something to a red-head who had just wandered over. Katie leaned in closer to Bailey and whispered, "Between you and me, Alicia isn't exactly Miss Manners, either."

Bailey laughed a little and waved her hand to show it didn't matter. "That's okay. I expected as much, as I'm riding on rude British stereotypes, and me being a damn Yank…"

They laughed and Bailey immediately relaxed, and both the tension in her muscles and butterflies in her stomach flew from her body. Now Alicia turned to her again, with the red-head.

"This is Fred Weasley, and his brother George is over there, flirting with someone way out of his league," Alicia said. Bailey was surprised to see a duplicate of Fred standing about 20 feet away, smiling at a girl who was indeed _way_ out of his league, and out of his age group.

"That's Lavender Brown's older sister, Daisy," Katie commented, with a slightly annoyed and somewhat disgusted look on her face. "She went to Hogwarts when we were in first year."

"So is George usually into the whole Mrs. Robinson thing?"

All four sets of eyes stared at Bailey. She felt a familiar pink warmth grow on her cheeks and a shy smile spread across her face. "Oh, American muggle movie. Sorry, quite forgot where I was for a moment." She said the last sentence with a British accent (_bloody good one_, she thought) and earned a warm, if somewhat confused, smile from Fred, Alicia and Katie. Oliver simply smiled.

"He's been known to cozy up to a professor or two to gain extra credit, but he has yet to fall in love with one of their daughter's."

Bailey's eyes widened with delight. "You've seen _The Graduate_?"

Oliver shrugged, trying to act casual but obviously excited about the shared interest. "Well, my dad's a muggle, and that's one of his favorite movies, so I've seen it as part of my 'cinematic education,' as he calls it."

"Oh my God, that's how I saw it, too!"

From the corner of her eye Bailey saw Alicia and Katie share a knowing glance, but she was too ecstatic about finding a wizard who actually knew about muggle movies (_American ones at that!_) to fully register what it meant.

The two girls each grabbed one of Fred's arms and began pulling him away. "We're gonna go save George from humiliation and then find a compartment," Katie called at Bailey and Oliver. "You should get your bags on board."

"Why don't you help her out, Oliver?"

"Honestly, Oliver, can't you be a gentleman _once_ in your life?"

Katie and Alicia dissolved into giggles as they toted off the powerless Fred.


	2. Two

Oliver and Bailey managed to store her luggage, birdcage and all, and settled into an empty compartment near the back of the train., the entire time carrying on about muggle movies, adding books and music to the list.

"What's your favorite Beatles album?" 

Oliver laughed at the earnestness with which she asked the question and thought for a moment. "Um… I'd probably have to say the _White Album_."

Bailey sat back with relief. "Good. I was afraid you were going to say some fluff, like _Yellow Submarine_."

"What's yours?"

"_Abbey Road_." No hesitation. "Mostly side two on vinyl, but the whole thing's great."

He nodded agreement, and a comfortable lull entered into the conversation. Oliver was the first to break it.

"So why did you transfer to Hogwarts? That's quite a move, considering it's your last year."

She grinned mischievously. "Well, _your_ last year. In America we go 'til we're 18. This way I get to graduate early."

"Surely you didn't move all the way across the Atlantic just to graduate early."

At this her grin faltered a little. "Well, when I got an owl from your ministry, offering me enrollment, I just decided there wouldn't be much I'd miss from Nalani, and I thought, what the hell?"

From the still-questioning look on Oliver's face, Bailey knew that she didn't have him convinced, and cursed herself for being such a horrible liar.

__

It's not a lie, it just isn't the whole truth. (Oh, but that's one of the best kind of lies.) Then why isn't it working now? (Because you suck at lying.) Oh, shut up, the last thing I need right now is an internal critic.

In spite of his curiosity, Oliver dropped the subject. He smiled brightly to try and relieve the sudden tension. "So what kind of bird cage do you have? It's nothing like the owl cages sold around here."

Bailey tuned out her inner commentary and any sign of distress was wiped from her face. "Oh, it isn't an owl cage."

"What do you keep your owl in, then?"

"Well, I don't exactly have an owl." She paused for him to say more, and when he didn't, she answered the question he silently asked. "It's a chicken."

Puzzlement then shock, then realization hit his face. "A chicken as in a _barnyard_ chicken?!"

"Yeah…"

Oliver began laughing at this, and a couple seconds later Alicia, Fred, Katie, George and a third girl burst into the compartment. They glanced at Oliver with amused interest and turned to Bailey for an explanation. She smiled and looked toward the ground.

"He's laughing at my pet."

Before any of them could even get out a scolding _"Oliver!"_ his laughter subsided enough for him to speak. "She has a chicken!"

At this George (Bailey knew it was him only from the large "G" knitted into his sweater) chortled quite loudly, but stopped when Katie elbowed him in the side. He winced and muttered an apology as he tried to hide a grin, but Bailey only smiled at him.

"It's fine, you can laugh, I'm used to it." The rest of the crowded compartment allowed their suppressed amusement to show on their faces. The one Bailey didn't recognize squeezed past the others and extended her hand.

"Since no one here wishes to introduce me, I'll have to do it myself. I'm Angelina Johnson." She took Bailey's hand. "I know who you are, the whole train is buzzing about the American onboard."

Bailey was genuinely surprised. "Really? Haven't you had an exchange student before?"

As Oliver was the oldest, all eyes turned to him for an answer. He shrugged and shook his head. "There haven't been any in the seven years I've gone here. I s'pose we could ask McGonagall when the train stops."

"She teaches transfiguration, doesn't she?"

Fred nodded. "And she's the head of Gryffindor, that's what house we're all in." He got a sudden look as he realized something. "Hey, you don't know what house you're gonna be in, do you?"

Bailey shook her head ruefully. "I wish. When I first met with Dumbledore I tried to get him to assign me one then, rather than wait for the Sorting. I've heard it's terribly embarrassing."

Katie put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's not that bad. After they make you recite the school rules and sing a duet with the sorting hat, the last half-hour's a snap."

All the group laughed at Bailey's horrified expression, all except Oliver. He rolled his eyes at the rest of them.

"It's not bad at all, it takes all of about two seconds. Katie's just being a prat."

Katie grinned and stuck her tongue out at Oliver. "If _that's_ how you feel about me then, I guess I'll just be leaving!" With a dramatic flair she tossed her hair over her shoulder and stormed out of the compartment. A couple seconds later she squealed "Ooo! The sweets trolley!" and those standing scurried after her, Fred and George in the lead. Oliver just shook his head and chuckled at them.

"There goes the most unruly quidditch team Gryffindor's seen in a long time."

Bailey's eyes widened. "_All_ of them are on the quidditch team?" He nodded grimly, and Bailey laughed with him. "Wow, if all the teams are like that, I'm starting to wish I'd requested a try-out."

Oliver's eyes lit up, and instantly an aura of excitement formed around him. "You play quidditch?"

She smiled modestly and shrugged. "I played a little on a team outside of school, since there wasn't a school team to play for."

"What position?"

"Chaser."

"How long have you played?"

"Seven years."

"What kind of broom do you ride?"

"Well, I've got a few, but my parents just bought me a Firebolt."

Her last answer in the barrage of questions threw him back in his seat.

"You have a _Firebolt_? And you didn't want to try out for a team?!"

"Well, I didn't know if I'd have time, what with adjusting to a new school, different teachers, studying for N.E.W.T.s—"

"Owning a Firebolt and not playing quidditch should be a crime!" By this time Oliver had run his hand through his hair several times, and the dark blonde strands stood in all different directions atop his head. He looked as though he'd just woken up.

__

Or just had sex…

Bailey did a mental double take at her last thought. _Where the hell did _that_ come from? I've known this guy for a couple of hours. It is way too soon for carnal thoughts to be entering into things._

(Yeah, you should at least wait 'til the train ride's over.)

As Oliver went on about the injustice of a Firebolt being stored in a trunk for the season, Bailey smiled slightly and took a closer look at his features. Thick lashes, full lips, clean-shaven, athletic build, well dressed. He was muscular without being a meatball; the sleeves of his blue button-down shirt were pushed up, and she could see the strength in his forearms, tense from his enthusiasm. His accent, which she had by now identified as Scottish, was strong but more than understandable and added a rough edge to his voice. Bailey's smile grew wider and, after reviewing the facts, she decided that maybe it wasn't too soon for carnal thoughts.

"What are you smiling like that for?"

She was shaken from her less-than-pure thoughts and realized that Oliver had ended his lecture. His head was cocked a bit to the side as he studied her with friendly curiosity. She felt a jolt run through her body when their eyes met and part of her briefly wondered if the compartment door locked. Thoughts of what they would do behind a locked door caused her to blush for at least the fourth time that day and she quickly lowered her eyes. After a few seconds of silence, when Bailey was brave enough to wander back up to his face, she saw that his curiosity had been replaced by an intensity that caused his eyes to darken and her breathing to become shallow. They sat staring at each other in the high voltage space, waiting for the other to speak until the tension became nearly unbearable. Bailey involuntarily wet her lips, and she saw Oliver's eyes dart toward them immediately. Her stomach fluttered when he moved his hands to push out of his seat and was nearly in a standing position when—

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

The door had swung open and there stood a plump little witch pushing a cart full of goodies. Oliver had plopped back down when he heard the doorknob turn, and the anticipation that had filled the compartment only a moment before had dissipated into the ether. He smiled at Bailey (almost apologetically) before smiling politely at the witch, who had no idea what she nearly walked in on.

__

Get off it, Bailey, you_ have no idea what she almost walked in on. For all you know he was about to wipe away an eyelash. (Eyelash, right. Oldest trick in the book.) Well, it's one I've used…_

"Do you want anything, Bailey?" Oliver was handing over his money while the witch looked at Bailey expectantly. 

__

Do I ever…


	3. Three

A/N: Sorry this is such a short chapter, but I won't be able to update for a while and I thought I'd just submit what I had. Thanks for the nice reviews!

The remainder of the train ride was (unfortunately) uneventful for Bailey, on the Oliver front anyway. There was a little run-in with dementors, but all Bailey felt was a brief chill. She just figured it was Oliver-induced. Since the near-kiss early on she had little control over her body's reaction to outside stimuli.

Example:

At around 1:00 Oliver got up to go in search of what he referred to as his "platoon," but when he opened the door he was shoved right back into the compartment by—

"Oliver! We've been looking all over for you two!"

"Come now, _you_ know snogging isn't allowed on the train."

"George, hush! Bailey's gone as red as your hair!"

Bailey had indeed gone red, but not from George's comment. When all five of the holy terrors burst in, Oliver was shoved down next to her; well, more like on top of her, as she'd been half-laying on the bench. With Oliver's head half lost in her chest, her face indeed became flushed, not from embarrassment, but more from… _arousal?_

For Christ's sake, Bailey, control yourself! He's just a boy! This isn't the first time you've been this close to a boy! (Ah, but it's the first time you've been this close to this _boy.) _

This boy… How was Oliver Wood, captain of Gryffindor's quidditch team, star keeper, seventh-year student _Oliver Wood_ any different from any other boy Bailey had been attracted to? Sure he had a sexy accent, but so did the Australian muggle surfer she dated between fifth and sixth year. Sure he had absolutely perfect skin that she could just sink her teeth into, but so did the Head Boy she'd fooled around with the previous year. Sure he had a great ass, but so did… well, so did everyone Bailey gave a second glance. For the life of her she couldn't place what it was, but at that moment, with their bodies pressed together and their breath coming in near-gasps, something about Oliver Wood made her want rip off his clothes and ravage him right there, viewing audience be damned. The feeling was wonderful and sensuous and absolutely dreadful.

This was the agony that Bailey endured for the approximately nine-hour train ride to Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After such a test of will power, she knew she was ready for anything the sorting hat decided to throw her way.


	4. Four

A/N: I know that the third book took place earlier than 2002, but I can't remember when it was and I'm too lazy to find my book and look it up, so you're just going to have to tough out the discrepancy. :)

At about 8:30 Bailey was lying on her stomach on the floor of her compartment, playing a game of wizard chess with Angelina and sneaking furtive glances at Oliver every few seconds. They played with Bailey's set which, unlike any those around her owned, did not come with the standard chess pieces. In place of the threatening-looking queens and knights were young men and women clad in bikinis and boardshorts, carrying surfboards beach towels in their arms.

Angelina watched with delight as her queen threw sand in the face of Bailey's knight and laughed as he ran off the board. She watched the other queen then surf across a couple squares and looked up at Bailey. "Where did you get a set like this? I've never seen one in wizarding shops around here."

"Well, it's not exactly a wizard set. I bought it in a muggle gift-shop and one of my old teachers bewitched it to behave like a wizard set." Bailey's queen now stood in front of Angelina's, and they slapped and pulled each other's hair until they fell into a mud pit that appeared out of nowhere. The other male pieces watched with great interest while other females looked both disgusted by and jealous of all the attention.

Angelina opened her mouth to make a reply, but at that moment the door flew open and in came a tall boy, already dressed in his robes and hat, with a very important air about him. Bailey stood as he came toward her, but no one else paid him any attention, though Fred and George did form identical mischievous smiles. The boy stuck out his hand, and Bailey shook it suspiciously, wondering (from the look on the twins' faces) if this was going to be some kind of joke, as Oliver had made her well informed of the infamous duo's usual shenanigans.

He shook her hand solemnly and introduced himself. "Hello, Miss Whitman, my name is Percy We-EAS-ley!" He yelped out the middle of his name and turned quickly to glare at his brothers, one of which had just put down his wand. They, in turn, looked back innocently and shrugged their shoulders, but neither Percy, nor Bailey, were fooled. Bailey had seen Fred reach out and poke Percy on his backside, which is all that Percy thought happened. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't see the colorful tail feathers sprouting out behind him.

He looked back at Bailey, who was struggling not to laugh and to maintain eye contact. "As I was _saying_, my name is Percy. I'm Head Boy this year and, as such, was instructed to deliver you directly to Professor Dumbledore upon our arrival. I'll be waiting for you outside of Hogsmeade station." He eyed her casual muggle clothes (skirt, halter, flip-flops) with mild distaste. "I trust that by that time you will be donning your hat and robe." With that he turned and left the compartment just as he'd come in: with his nose in the air and a wand up his ass. Well, maybe not _just_ as he came in.

By now his tail (peacock, fittingly) had grown into full plumage through his robe, and still he was oblivious to its existence. When he closed the door everyone in the compartment bit their lip or covered their mouth to keep from laughing and kept silent, straining to hear into the hallway. Three seconds later they were rewarded.

"Percy! *giggling* What are you wearing that silly thing for?"

"What? I'm not…" Silence. More giggling. Opening doors. Then—

__

"Fred! George!"

The compartment exploded into laughter, though none were louder than Fred and George. They heard Percy storming down the hall, and before he could reach their door the two ran out, wands in hand, and took off in the direction opposite of the Head Boy.

After Percy marched heavily past the door, Angelina, Katie and Alicia rushed after him. Bailey was right on Alicia's tail when Oliver pulled her back. She threw him an annoyed look and tried to pull out of his grasp, but he held her wrist firmly.

"What? Oliver, I want to see Per—"

"Did he call you Bailey Whitman?"

"Yes! Now let me go!" 

"What Quidditch team did you play for?"

Bailey quit struggling and crossed her arms._ Where the hell is he going with this? _ "The Wiamea Wailers."

He began to smile, and the hope in his eyes quickly turned into excitement. "So you're Bailey Whitman as in Bailey Whitman, _the most sought after_ chaser of the '01-'02 season?!"

She stared at him, shocked. "You've _heard_ of me?

His hand went through his hair again and Bailey bit her lip, desperately wishing that he would stop and praying that he wouldn't. "Of _course_ I've heard of you! The Wailers have been featured in all the major sports magazines! _You_ were featured in _TalisMan_ magazine! You were _the best_ chaser for _the best_ amateur team in the States! I can't believe I didn't recognize you!"

Her face fell when she realized just how much Oliver knew about her, but he didn't seem to notice. "You know all that about me?"

"Yeah, you're amazing! I've used some of your moves with my own team! I can't believe you didn't say anything!" She had sat down and cradled her head in her hands, and for the first time Oliver noticed her change in attitude. "What's wrong?" 

Bailey sighed and looked up at him and the grin on his face faltered a bit. She suddenly looked and felt very tired. "Oh, nothing, I was just hoping no one would recognize me, not for a while, anyway." He looked as though he was about to apologize to her, and she forced herself to smile at him. "It's fine, Oliver, don't worry about it. Actually, I'm flattered that you seem so impressed."

He sat down next to her, and Bailey forgot to be upset that her secret was revealed. She looked at him and was happy to notice that he'd become more subdued. _Maybe that means he's gonna drop the subject…_

"So why did you leave the team? You could have played for any team you wanted."

__

Damn.

She looked at her feet again and prayed that he didn't notice her discomfort. "Oh, you know, some things just get old after a while. I wanted to concentrate on my studies, and I realized that Quidditch just wasn't that important to me." Her eyes remained down until the silence stretched on for too long, and she looked at Oliver. He gave her a knowing smile. He obviously hadn't bought it.

"If that's what you say happened."

She played along and smiled innocently. "Yes, that is what happened."

Bailey expected him to turn away, say something, change the subject, question her further, but he did nothing but look at her. It was the same look he had before they'd been interrupted the first time, and now there wasn't the compartment between them. She sat back, and waited expectantly for a kiss that never came. Oliver looked away from her, and then out the window. "Looks like we're just about there. You should get your robe and hat before there's a whole swarm—"

Oliver's suggestion was cut off rather abruptly when Bailey leaned over and took his mouth with hers.


	5. Five

A/N: I'm sooooooooooo sorry I took so long to update. I got started working on a different part of the story and forgot about the task at hand, so here's an extra long chapter to make up for it. Enjoy!

The kiss was incredible. Oliver quickly splayed his fingers in her hair with one hand and wrapped the other tightly around her waist. It was almost as though he had expected it to happen. His tongue slipped past her lips and flickered inside her mouth and then he nibbled at her lower lip ever so slightly as she repositioned so she was straddling him. Bailey instinctively ground into his lap and his hand fluttered up from her waist to the underside of her breast, and just as she groaned into his mouth—

"Bailey?"

Bailey sat, blinked. She was straddling no one, kissing no one, being felt-up by no one. She looked at Oliver; he was sitting close to the window, wearing a curious expression and not one of a person who had just been kissed.

__

Damn it.

"What?"

"I asked if you wanted me to get your robes while I go find mine?"

__

Goddamn it.

"Um, yeah, sure Oliver. Thanks."

Oliver seemed more than eager to get out of the compartment, now rife with sexual tension. As soon as he shut the door Bailey let out a frustrated groan and fell heavily against the wall.

__

What is wrong with me? Why am I suddenly a fumbling, hormone-crazed teenager again? (Because you are a--) Oh, shut up! You _know what I mean. I mean I know. I mean… ugh! This didn't happen with Scott, this didn't happen with David, this didn't happen with John._

John.

Bailey closed her eyes, her inner commentary finally realizing it was time to shut up. She rubbed her temples, as though trying to crush the memories before they surfaced. Too late. She saw his smile, his eyes, his body. She felt his hands, his mouth…

"No!"

"No what?"

Bailey jumped at the other voice, at the only other person who could invoke emotions as confusing as those she felt last year with—

"Bailey, is something wrong? I mean, I know I don't really know you, but you seem… strange."

She rolled her eyes, not having the heart to point out the poor choice of words. She didn't have to, anyway.

"Oliver! Don't say that!"

"You're going to give the poor girl a complex!"

"Yeah, how will you feel when she ends up in St. Mungo's before even stepping _foot_ inside Hogwarts?"

Oliver stood dumbstruck for a moment, but before he could utter a word of an apology to Bailey Alicia and Katie took hold of each of her arms, and Angelina was taking her robe.

"We can handle it from here, Oliver," she said, as Bailey was dragged from the room. "You think of something real gentlemanly to say next time you see her."

The last Bailey saw of Oliver until that night's feast was a rueful expression and the word "sorry" forming on his lips.

*****

By the time the train was _finally_ pulling in to Hogsmeade station, Bailey was actually eager to get off and meet up with Percy.

__

That's how badly the final ten minutes had gone.

After Alicia, Katie and Angelina had wrenched her away from Oliver (a move that would have gotten all three of them hexed had her wand not been packed away), they insisted upon getting her up to speed on all the Hogwarts gossip ("This is vital information, Bailey, every bit as important as what you'll learn in class"). As it turned out, the most interesting (and that's being generous) of that "vital information" included a fifth year Hufflepuff who was secretly dating a ghost, something-Myrtle, a Slytherin girl who had made the mistake of going to the school nurse to get a birth control charm ("She would have been expelled if Pomfrey had told Snape!") and then one that actually did pique Bailey's interest.

"You know who Gilderoy Lockhart is?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, he's the author who was exposed as a fraud."

"Well!" She lowered her voice. "He was our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher last year, before the truth came out, and there was this huge rumor that he was shagging a girl from Ravenclaw."

Bailey, who had been picking tiny down feathers off of her robes, suddenly looked up at Katie. "He had an affair with his student?"

Katie looked at Alicia, who continued. "Well, according to rumor. She was a seventh year, so she wasn't in our class, but she did have it double with Gryffindor, so we had an inside source."

"He said that she was always staying after, during lunch, to get 'help' on something," Angelina added. "And he swears he heard them having sex, when he went in after dinner to get the book he forgot. He said Lockhart's office was locked and he heard people in there."

The unreadable expression on Bailey's face was one that Alicia interpreted as a mixture of shock and disgust. "Can you believe it? With a _teacher!_ That girl's lucky she's gone, she looked absolutely miserable after all the accusations."

Angelina shook her head. "No self-respect."

"How about you Bailey?"

Again, Bailey's head snapped up, eyes narrowing suspiciously at Katie. "How about me what?"

"Did anything like that ever happen at your school?"

With a small sigh of relief Bailey went back to picking at her robes. All she did was shake her head vaguely. The subject was dropped and the three other girls continued chattering and tittering. Bailey remained silent, and wished that she were anywhere else but there.

Now that she _was_ somewhere else, with Percy, she was starting to think that terrible compartment wasn't sounding too bad.

"Miss Whitman, I specifically asked you to be dressed in your robes _and_ hat," Percy said sternly, stopping to glare at her through his horn-rimmed glasses. "Where is your hat?"

She rolled her eyes and kept walking. "It's tucked down my shirt. I thought I'd give Dumbledore the honor of retrieving it and putting it on my head."

Gaping, he caught up with her, sputtering, "W-w-what? You- you can't do that! Do you know—"

"Hey, peacock boy, it was joke! Here." She took the hat from her robes (not her shirt) and pulled it over her hair. "Happy?"

He glared again, not responding but only growling out, "Follow me," before continuing toward the castle at a brisk pace. Bailey was quite pleased to see the colorful tip of a feather stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

After a brief meeting with McGonagall, Bailey hung out in the Entrance Hall until all the first years showed up and they were ushered as one big swarm into the Great Hall. Looking around, Bailey's eyes grew just as wide as those of her younger companions.

__

Christ, they weren't kidding when they said "Great" Hall, she thought to herself. Then she mentally kicked herself for being shocked. After seeing the outside of the castle, which outsized her old school by about three times, of course the Great Hall would be this, well, great. She was torn from her thoughts as the two boys in front of her started whispering to one another, somewhat frantically.

"How will we even sit down? The tables look full!"

"Well, we _are_ pretty small…"

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That's an understatement. Even at Bailey's below-average height of 5'4", she stuck out terribly amongst the ten and 11-year-olds, and every eye she chanced to meet at the tables was looking right at her.

"There must be a thousand people here!"

"No way, more like five!"

"The shorter kid's closer, it's about two thousand."

Both boys looked back at Bailey with a mixture of fear and awe. They stared so long that they hadn't noticed the line stop and ran straight into the kids in front of them.

McGonagall glared at them before clearing her throat to speak.

"If you all would be quite, we will begin the sorting, followed by a few words from Professor Dumbledore. First years, when I call your name, please step forward, sit on the stool and place the sorting hat on your head."

Near the back of the line, Bailey breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to kick Katie for making it sound so difficult.

"Abbe, Samantha."

And so went the sorting. Quickly the line moved forward, and before she was sure she was ready—

"Whitman, Bailey."

The near-silence that had preceded the other students' sorting became non-existent, and the Hall erupted into whispered chatter as she approached the stool and placed the hat on her head.

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Well, what have we here? A seventh year!

Bailey jumped slightly at the ragged voice in her ears, not having expected the had to say more than "Gryffindor" or "Ravenclaw," as she felt those two to be the most likely choices.

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A very sharp mind indeed, but lacking a bit too much motivation for Ravenclaw. Far too_ sharp for Hufflepuff I'm afraid, but what's this? A nasty little secret, I see!_

At these words Bailey instantly tensed up and tried to shut down the part of her mind that damned hat was seeing into, wondering for the first time if the whole school could hear what she did. To her surprise, the hat answered her question.

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Oh no, this is between you and me. And experience such as this, the slyness and cunning involved, sounds like it may have prepared you well for a place in Slytherin.

Beginning to panic, Bailey's eyes flew to the Slytherin table beneath the great green flag. They looked so cold, so unwelcoming. When one boy sneered she caught sight of his horrible teeth and shut her eyes at once. To her surprise, Oliver's face (and perfect teeth) came swimming into view, and she tried desperately to remember which house he'd said he was in…

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Not a fan of those teeth, eh? Well, all right, I'll give you the pretty boy, just like you had last time. I'll make it—

"GRYFFINDOR!"

This last word, and only this last word, was what the hat cried out to the Hall, and Bailey felt relief wash over her as she tried to appear cool and collected walking to the Gryffindor table. She tried to find Oliver, but was just about to give up and sit next to a lanky boy with flaming red hair when—

"Oy, Bailey!"

She smiled and saw Oliver standing on the other side of the table, a few people down, gesturing wildly. She scurried over and squeezed between him and a very putout blonde as the next name was read.

Oliver grinned at her. "That took forever! The hat usually never takes that long."

"Yeah, well, it debated putting me in Slytherin." She could have sworn she heard the blonde mutter "Too bad it didn't," and from the look on Oliver's face, so did he, but Bailey chose to ignore it.

As McGonagall continued, Oliver moved his head very close to Bailey and lowered his voice when he spoke. "Listen, Bailey, I'm really sorry that I said you were strange on the train. I wanted to apologize then, but Katie and Angelina and Alicia, the way they dragged you off, I… what's so funny?"

Bailey was laughing softly and, in a move of incredible daring, touched her lips to his ear as she whispered, "You should be apologizing for not stopping them. By the time we got to the station I was actually looking forward to meeting up with Percy."

He kept his face close. "That bad?"

"Worse."

Oliver smiled mischievously and returned Bailey's favor, brushing his lips against her ear. "I guess I'll have to make it up to you."

With that he turned away to watch the very end of the sorting, and by the time Bailey had recovered enough to make a comeback, Dumbledore was ready to start his speech. She heard it all but didn't take in a word of it.

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I wonder how far it's appropriate to go on the first night in a haunted castle with next to no adult supervision, 'cause I think groping might actually be a necessity in these drafty halls…

It was with these ponderings that Bailey began the feast, chatting with who she hoped would be her new friends and brushing against Oliver at every opportunity. To him she said little, but communicated with the most, and by the end of the feast Bailey was more than ready to do some exploring, and not just around the castle.

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Oh yeah, groping is definitely_ a necessity._


End file.
